By Proxy

The Story

“By Proxy” is a digital art series that blends photography and 3D virtual modeling to explore how memory distorts, softens, and reimagines our past. This work was created in collaboration with Lenne Chai and the project draws from our shared upbringing in Singapore and our parallel paths in fashion photography. Though we’ve known each other for years, this was our first time working together professionally, and it turned into one of the most meaningful collaborations I’ve ever experienced.

The project began as a natural merging of our practices. I had been diving into 3D virtual modeling and NFTs, while Lenne continued her work in evocative, emotionally raw photography. Together, we wanted to create something that felt personal and surreal, rooted in our shared memories of growing up in Singapore.

At the heart of the project is a virtual teenage girl, whose face is a composite of both mine and Lenne’s childhood features. She exists in scenes that feel both real and unreal, moving through a world shaped by memory. We designed each piece to blur the lines between photography and 3D render, so it becomes unclear what was captured in-camera and what was digitally constructed.

This confusion is intentional. Memory is rarely perfect. Moments bleed into each other. Reality and imagination overlap. In “By Proxy,” we wanted the viewer to experience that same uncertainty. The work reflects how we reconstruct our pasts, filling in gaps, romanticizing some parts, and obscuring others.

The series is not only an aesthetic experiment in medium, but a conceptual inquiry into identity, nostalgia, and the technology we use to make sense of our histories. It invites you to enter a world that feels intimate yet disjointed, and to reflect on the fragility of your own memories, what is real, and what has simply been remembered into being.

Exhibited at Proof of Concept.